St George's Day 2021, 3rd Anniversary of Ealing Buffer Zone

The Feast of St George this year marks the 3rd Anniversary of the introduction of a Buffer Zone to reduce the effectivity of the pro-life Vigil in Mattock Lane. Since the Buffer Zone came into force, offers of help to women entering abortion centres have been removed from the immediate vicinity of the abortion centre entrance. The vigil is still allowed to operate on a small patch of grass 150 metres away from the Marie Stopes' abortion centre, but of course many women going for an abortion never see the pro-life vigil, nor know that it is there or what help it offers. During the first and third lockdowns the Vigil was not allowed to operate at all, while abortion figures rose and abortion centres remained open while also providing abortion pills via the post to women who could not travel. 

During the lockdowns we have had many women contacting us in distress to seek help or counselling after taking the abortion pill. Some have opted to seek medical help to try to reverse the effects of the pills they have taken, usually successfully. Others have contacted us after losing their child seeking a listening ear and moral support.

Today I have been speaking with Jenna, a young Christian mum who took the first abortion pill because her children's father is totally unwilling to commit to her and she is trying to work and study so she can support her children more fully. Without his support it is almost impossible. But she does not think it was the right decision. She has not taken the 2nd pill and is hoping she can keep her baby. She wept as she told me how hard it has been, how wrong she believes abortion is, but how she is struggling to cope. She wept even more as I told her about the help we can offer with childcare to enable her to complete her studies so that she can support her children, and how much support we can give her around this. "If only you were there to tell me about this when I went to the abortion centre" she said "I would never have taken that pill." 

Yes, if only.

3 years on from the establishment of the Buffer Zone, women who are coerced into abortion are more isolated and pressured than ever. Ealing Council has decided after their "Consultation" (if you read that document, you will understand why it seems a travesty to call it that) earlier this year to renew the Buffer Zone for another 3 years.

If you can help at our prayer vigils in Whitfield St, Central London and in the "Designated Area" on Mattock Lane, please get in touch here: info@goodcounselnetwork.com 

St George, Patron saint of England, slay the dragon of abortion and give Our Lady back her dowry!

9 Million Babies Lives Lost to abortion since 27th October 1967

The UK Abortion Act was passed in Parliament 53 years ago next Tuesday. Over nine million Babies have been aborted here since then. What will you do next Tuesday? 

You could join in our National Day of Prayer and Fasting for Life on this terrible anniversary. Invite your friends and Family to join us via this Facebook event.

Fast from all food except bread and water for the day

Or

Fast from a particular food or luxury, e.g. chocolate, alcohol, cigarettes, TV.

Fast from whatever you can given your state of health etc, but make sure it is something that involves a sacrifice to yourself.

We are asking people to say a Rosary (or an extra Rosary if you say it daily already).

You could also offer an extra effort such as going to Mass (or an extra Mass) on the day, or going to Adoration. You can even pray before a closed tabernacle if Adoration is not available near you

There are two Good Counsel Peaceful Pro-Life Prayer Vigils outside abortion centres in London that day, one in Ealing and one in Central London, telephone 02077231740 or email info@goodcounselnetwork.com for details and to book to attend. For vigils outside of London see; https://www.40daysforlife.com/vigil-search.aspx 

Wear something Pro-Life on the day and change your profile picture to something Pro-Life for the day, you could use one of these photos;

[You can buy the Blue badge here and the Pink one here]

Ending Abortion, Consecration to Our Blessed Mother

           ‘Nations will be annihilated’ but

‘In the end My Immaculate Heart will Triumph'

            In our last blog post we focused on the immense importance of Eucharistic Adoration in fighting abortion. Now we move on to the next most important weapon we have, which is Consecration to Our Blessed Mother.

In July 1917, Our Blessed Lady appeared to three Portuguese children in Fatima. The children were shown a vision of hell, following which, Our Lady told them "You have seen hell where the souls of poor sinners go. To save them, God wishes to establish in the world devotion to my Immaculate Heart. If what I say to you is done, many souls will be saved and there will be peace … I shall come to ask for the consecration of Russia to my Immaculate Heart and the Communion of Reparation on the First Saturdays".

It is important to note that Our Lady said that the purposes of consecrating Russia to her were: to save sinners from hell and to bring peace to the world. It is also important that she said that if this Act of Consecration was not made and if devotion to her Immaculate Heart was not established in the world, that Russia would spread her errors around the world and nations would be annihilated.

The years following the message of Fatima saw the rapid spread of communism around the world and the influence of it even in countries that are not officially communist ruled. In the time between the apparitions at Fatima and the second world war, dictators such as Stalin and Hitler perfected the annihilation of nations. As well as war, abortion quickly became a means of destroying nations, particularly the communist nations of Eastern Europe, some of which had such high abortion rates that Doctors comment even now that to see women from some of those countries who have had 8 abortions is common and to see a woman who has had 20 abortions is not so unusual.

In the last years before his death Pope John Paul II made an Act of Consecration of the Whole World to Our Lady. Now there is no better way for us to be faithful to Our Blessed Lady’s request than by: a) living out this Consecration in our own lives, b) Consecrating all that we are and have personally to Our Lady and c) Establishing devotion to her Immaculate Heart in the world – particularly through the promotion of the devotion of the First Five Saturdays.

Through doing this you can be certain that you are assisting Our Lady to save souls from hell, you are helping to bring a true peace to the world and you are preventing the annihilation of nations, through euthanasia, abortion and all attacks on the sanctity of human life.

Fruits of Consecration to Our Lady

Ø St Louis Marie de Montfort’s preaching of the Total Consecration to Jesus through Mary in the Vendee area in France resulted in a well-catechised laity, whose descendants fought and died for the Faith in large numbers. [Email us your postal address, UK only, to receive a free copy of St Louis Marie de Montfort's  booklet on how to prepare to make the Total Consecration, info@GoodCounselNetwork.com]

Ø St Maximillian Kolbe, who influenced millions of Catholics to live their faith fully, led the largest monastery in Europe, which was founded on the Consecration of oneself to Mary.

Ø Frank Duff, founded the Legion of Mary in 1921 also based on total Consecration to Mary, the Legion has produced 4,000 martyrs in China as well as 6 candidates for Canonisation.

Ø Pope John Paul II said that the Total Consecration to Mary changed his life.

The Devotion of the First Five Saturdays

Our Lady said: "Look, my daughter, at my Heart, surrounded with thorns, with which ungrateful men pierce me at every moment by their blasphemies and ingratitude. You at least try to console me and say that I promise to assist at the hour of death, with the graces necessary for salvation, all those who, on the First Saturday of five consecutive months, shall confess, receive Holy Communion, recite five decades of the Rosary, and keep me company for fifteen minutes while meditating on the fifteen mysteries of the Rosary, with the intention of making reparation to me".

Later, on 29 May 1930, Our Lord explained to Lucia: "… There are five ways in which people offend and blaspheme against the Immaculate Heart of Mary; blasphemies against the Immaculate Conception, against her Virginity, and against the divine Maternity and the refusal to recognise her as the Mother of all mankind; blasphemies by those who seek publicly to implant in the hearts of children indifference, contempt and even hatred against this Immaculate Mother, and by those who insult her directly in her sacred images".

The devotion of the Five First Saturdays can be summarised as follows: sacramental confession, reception of Holy Communion, the recitation of five decades of the Rosary, meditation for fifteen minutes on the mysteries of the Rosary all with the intention of making reparation to Our Blessed Lady.

Let us therefore, out of love for Our Lady make this devotion our own! Praised be Jesus and Mary!

Eucharistic Adoration: The Way to End Abortion

 

           The Eucharist is the focal point of the Catholic faith because it is Jesus present with us here on earth today. In the Eucharist, Jesus prolongs His presence on earth and most completely fulfils His words: “Behold I am with you all days, even to the consummation of the world” (Mt. 28:20)

            The Eucharist is Jesus’ greatest expression of His love for us. Jesus expresses His love for us in three ways in the Eucharist: by re-presenting His sacrifice of the Cross in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, by uniting His life with ours in Holy Communion, and by giving us the gift of continual presence in the Blessed Sacrament. This is another way of saying that the Eucharist is a threefold sacrament, i.e,. it confers grace in three different ways. We will focus here on the third way. Prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament is efficacious, and it is the way to secure the graces necessary to put an end to abortion in the world. Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, “ If people spent an hour a week in Eucharistic adoration, abortion would be ended.”

            Of the many graces received by prayer before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, the greatest by far is the sanctification of the adorer. Young people should be encouraged to spend time before our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament. In that way they will fortify themselves against temptations against chastity, which when succumbed to, often lead to the sin of abortion.

            Pope Paul VI said that Eucharistic adoration cultivates in the soul “a ‘social’ love by which the common good is given preference over the good of the individual.” This heightened social conscience makes one more aware of the immense dignity of every human person; it allows one to see clearly that every human person is uniquely created and specially loved by God. Such a sensitised conscience finds abortion abhorrent and could never hold a “pro-choice” position.

            Pope John Paul II, in a recent letter commemorating the 750^th anniversary of the first celebration of the feast of Corpus Christi, said, “through adoration the Christian mysteriously contributes to the radical transformation of the world.” This is a powerful statement that affirms the awesome power of Eucharistic adoration, the power that will transform our “culture of death” into a culture of life. Eucharistic adoration is the most powerful means one can employ to win graces for the conversion and salvation of those involved in abortion and other sins against human life. Blessed Dina Belanger was told by Jesus in a vision that a multitude of souls were saved from the fires of hell by her Eucharistic holy hours of prayer.

           

The heart of the apostolate of every pro-life worker should be a weekly Eucharistic holy hour dedicated specifically to the end of contraception, abortion and euthanasia throughout the world. It is necessary to pray first for the end of contraception because abortion and euthanasia are logical and natural consequences of contraception. If man dares to usurp God’s prerogative and determine when life begins, it follows that he will also dare to determine when it ends.

            Putting an end to abortion is just one of many reasons why every parish should have perpetual Eucharistic adoration. Perpetual Eucharistic adoration is the “devotion of devotions.” It provides an easy and convenient means for everyone in the parish to spend at least an hour a week with Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. I urge all Catholic pro-lifers to encourage their pastors to start perpetual adoration in their parishes.

[Sign up to commit to an hour of Adoration of the most Blessed Sacrament for the work of the Good Counsel Network, once a week. You can fulfil this in any Church of your choice.]

© Rev. Victor P. Warkulwiz, M.S.S., National Director of the Apostolate for Perpetual Eucharistic Adoration. For more information contact:

APOSTOLATE FOR PERPETUAL EUCHARISTIC ADORATION

MISSIONARY PRIESTS OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT

P.O. BOX 1428, BENSALEM, PA 19020, USA.    PH:215.244.9211   FAX: 215.244.9211

E-MAIL: apea@webtv.net 

Prayer, Adoration, Lock-down and Abortion

Saint Teresa of Calcutta said “If people spend one hour per week in Eucharistic Adoration, abortion would be ended”. Just think about that for a moment, “abortion would be ended”. Somewhere in the region of 200,000 lives would be saved every year in the UK alone.

Jesus Christ is truly present in The Blessed Sacrament and we receive Him, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity at Mass and we can really Adore Him in the Monstrance at Adoration. If we spend time praying in the physical presence of God is it any wonder that Saint Teresa said “abortion would be ended”.  Before the lock-down started we would have Eucharistic Adoration five days a week in The Good Counsel Network’s Chapel. We have now missed over 200 hours of Adoration. Thousands, maybe tens of thousands of hours of Adoration have been missed in Churches up and down the country. It is good that people are finding ways to pray online, live streamed Masses, Adoration, retreats etc. But it is not the same, it is a bit like the difference between going to visit your family and talking to them on the phone or online. We need real contact; we need to Adore God in the Blessed Sacrament.

We all have things we are waiting to see re-open as lock-down is relaxed. My wife, son and myself  have spent a bit of time in the book shops now they have re-opened. I will ‘waste’ some time watching football in due course, (according to my wife). This is all good and well and I trust you can add to the list for yourself. But let us remember that this will not end abortion. So let us be clear with a plan now, such as. ‘Now churches are re-opening, I will go and spend an hour a week in Eucharistic Adoration and if no parish near me has Adoration I will pray in front of the Tabernacle, knowing that Jesus Christ is there.’ If you have been unable to get to Confession during lock-down, go before public Masses start up again (many priests are now offering it on request).

Abortion centres have remained open during lock-down and the government have unbelievably allowed D.I.Y. abortions at home, with the abortion centres posting abortion pills to women they have never even met or examined. The abortion figures for last year are the worst on record, the even easier availability of home abortions as well as those in abortion centres during the difficult weeks of lock-down will be likely to mean this year’s figures will be even higher. We really need to make up for lost time with Our Lord as churches re-open and make up for lost ground in the fight against abortion.

The Good Counsel Network has two prayer rotas. You can join our Rosary Rota where you say a Rosary for our work once a month, we will send you the date and which Mysteries to say to ensure that we have people praying each day for the Mothers that we are helping. You can join our Adoration Rota where you agree to do an hours Adoration each week in a Church of your choosing. You can sign up for one or both of these Prayer Rotas here; https://goodcounselnet.co.uk/sign-up-for-info

52 Years of Abortion

Sunday 26^th April is the Feast of Our Lady, Mother of Good Counsel, which is the 52^nd anniversary of the last day in Britain when it was illegal to perform abortions. Please say the prayer to Our Lady, Mother of Good Counsel, on this her Feast day: http://www.goodcounselnet.co.uk/Our-Patron-Saints.html  or see below.

 

Monday 27^th April, is the 52^nd anniversary of the abortion act coming in to effect. Since then, over 9 million babies have been aborted in the United Kingdom. Please join us that day in praying and fasting* for the end of abortion in this Country. Normally thousands of people would hear about our National Days of Prayer and Fasting for Life through their Parishes, with notices and posters. Sadly at this time, this will not happen, would you therefore please forward this email to family and friends and go onto the Facebook event and click Going and then click Share and then use the Invite option to invite others. Thank you. https://www.facebook.com/events/3035268766567721/

The March for Life have said, "27th April marks the very sad anniversary of the abortion act UK. When you go out for your exercise be a prolife witness by wearing a pro-life t-shirt!"

 

And SPUC, who would normally have thier Pro-Life Chains this weekend have also called for a day of prayer on Monday.

Prayer to Our Lady, Mother of Good Counsel:

O, Holy Virgin, to whose feet we are led by our anxious uncertainty in our search for and attainment of what is true and good, invoking thee by the sweet title of Mother of Good Counsel we beseech thee to come to our assistance, when along the road of this life, the darkness of error and of evil conspires towards our ruin by leading our minds and our hearts astray.

Do Thou, O Seat of Wisdom and Star of the Sea, Enlighten the doubtful and the erring, that they be not seduced by the false appearances of good, render them steadfast in the face of the hostile and corrupting influences of passion and of sin.

O Mother of Good Counsel, obtain for us from Thy Divine Son a great love of Virtue and, in the hour of uncertainty and trial, the strength to embrace the way that leads to our salvation. If Thy hand sustains us, we shall walk unmolested long the path indicated to us by the life and words of Jesus our Redeemer; and having followed freely and securely, even in the midst of this world's strife, the sun of truth and justice under Thy Maternal Star, we shall come to the enjoyment of full and eternal peace with Thee in the Haven of Salvation. Amen.

*As we are in the Easter Season please limit your fasting to some small sacrifice.

Novena for the Safe Re-opening of the Churches and the Restoration of Public Mass as soon as possible

We are writing today to ask you to join us in prayer for a very important intention, the Litany below will be said by Catholics across the UK from Sunday, 26th April, (The Feast of Our Lady of Good Counsel) until the following week Monday, 4th May, the Feast of the English Martyrs.

This novena petitions Our Lord, the Good Shepherd, that it may be safe to re-open Churches and restore public Masses as soon as possible.

We know that many Catholics are finding it difficult in these times, separated from Our Lord’s Sacramental Presence in the tabernacle in His Churches. And, of course, many have been affected by the coronavirus, many have died and others have lost loved ones.

We know that care must be taken to ensure the safety of all, so we earnestly entreat Our Lord that, it will be safe to reopen the Churches and restore public Masses as soon as possible.

Please join us. If you hear about it later than those dates, please join anyway.

We continue to pray daily for all our supporters, especially those afflicted by this illness, and for the Mothers in need of our support, which we have continued to provide during the lockdown.

Please do share the Novena with your friends too.

Novena for the Safe Re-opening of the Churches and the Restoration of Public Mass as soon as possible

 

The Litany of the Sacred Heart

For the Intention that it may be safe to re-open the Churches and restore public Masses as soon as possible, we pray:

Lord, have mercy on us.

-          Christ, have mercy on us.

Lord, have mercy on us.

-          Christ, have mercy on us.

Christ, hear us.

-          Christ, graciously hear us.

 God the Father of Heaven,

-          Have mercy on us.

God the Son, Redeemer of the world,

-          Have mercy on us.

God the Holy Spirit,

-          Have mercy on us.

Holy Trinity, one God,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Formed by the Holy Ghost in the womb of the Virgin Mother,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Substantially united to the Word of God,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Of Infinite Majesty,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Holy Temple of God,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Burning Furnace of charity,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Vessel of Justice and love,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Full of goodness and love,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Abyss of all virtues,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Most worthy of all praises,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, King and centre of all hearts,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, In Whom are all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, In Whom dwelleth all the fulness of the Divinity,

-          Have mercy on us. 

Heart of Jesus, in Whom the Father is well pleased,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Of Whose fullness we have all received,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Desire of the everlasting hills,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Patient and abounding in mercy,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Rich unto all who call upon Thee,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Fountain of life and holiness,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Atonement for our sins,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Filled with reproaches,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Bruised for our offenses,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Made obedient unto death,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Pierced with a lance,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Source of all consolation,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Our Life and Resurrection,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Our Peace and Reconciliation,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Victim for our sins,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Salvation of those who hope in Thee,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Hope of those who die in Thee,

-          Have mercy on us.

Heart of Jesus, Delight of all the Saints,

-          Have mercy on us.

Lamb of God Who takest away the sins of the world,

-          Spare us, O Lord.

Lamb of God Who takest away the sins of the world,

-          Graciously hear us, O Lord.

Lamb of God Who takest away the sins of the world,

-          Have mercy on us.

Jesus, meek and humble of heart,

-          Make our hearts like unto Thine.

 

Let us pray.

 

Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thine most-beloved Son, and upon the praises and satisfaction He offers Thee in the name of sinners; and appeased by worthy homage, pardon those who implore Thy mercy, in Thy Great Goodness in the name of the same Jesus Christ Thy Son, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, world without end. Amen.

We turn to Mary in England's hour of need, as we have always done. Please use the link and pictures  below to help you join and celebrate the Rededication of England as Mary's Dowry on Sunday 29th March 2020.
Rededication Prayers can be found at www.Behold2020.com

Rededication of England as Mary's Dowry Colouring Pages for Children

If you are taking part in the Preparation for Consecration to Jesus through Mary, currently happening across England, in the run up to the Rededication of England as Mary's Dowry by the Bishop's of England, you might like a colouring page/timetable of events for your children. The page lists all the things going on in the lead up to the Rededication. But don't be overwhelmed, just take part to whatever extent you can! If you find the pages helpful, please share!
Rededication Colouring Page & Timetable
Hopefully you know by now that England is going to be Rededicated to Mary as her Dowry on 29th March this year. You may also know that we are all encouraged to take part in a Consecration to Jesus through Mary on the Feast of the Annunciation, 25th March 2020. There is a 33 day preparation period of prayer (which started on the 21st March). Even if you missed the start date, you can still join in at any time. There are online links for the St Louis de Montfort Preparation prayers here
and also for shorter, and more recent versions : 
Fr Michael Gaitley's "33 Days to Morning Glory" is online here
And Fr Brian McMaster's book, based on St Louis de Montfort and Pope John Paul II, "Totus Tuus" is on sale here.

You Wouldn’t Even Ask….Candidates to Vote for General Election 2019

If a candidate who supported terrorism asked for your vote, would you say, "I disagree with you on terrorism, but where do you stand on other issues?

"I doubt it.

In fact, if a terrorism sympathiser presented him/herself for your vote, you would immediately know that such a position disqualifies the candidate for public office -- no matter how good he or she may be on other issues. The horror of terrorism dwarfs whatever good might be found in the candidate's plan for housing, education, or health care. Regarding those plans, you wouldn't even ask.

So why do so many people say, "This candidate favours legal abortion. I disagree. But I'm voting for this person because she has good ideas about health care (or some other issue).

"Such a position makes no sense whatsoever, unless one is completely blind to the violence of abortion. That, of course, is the problem. But we need only see what abortion looks like, or read descriptions from the abortionists themselves, and the evidence is clear. (USA Today refused to sell me space for an ad that quoted abortionists describing their work because the readers would be traumatised just by the words!)

Abortion is no less violent than terrorism. Any candidate who says abortion should be kept legal disqualifies him/herself from public service. We need look no further, we need pay no attention to what that candidate says on other issues. Support for abortion is enough for us to decide not to vote for such a person.

Pope John Paul II put it this way: "Above all, the common outcry, which is justly made on behalf of human rights -- for example, the right to health, to home, to work, to family, to culture -- is false and illusory if the right to life, the most basic and fundamental right and the condition for all other personal rights, is not defended with maximum determination" (Christifideles Laici, 1988).

False and illusory. Those are strong and clear words that call for our further reflection.

"I stand for adequate and comprehensive health care." So far, so good. But as soon as you say that a procedure that tears the arms off of little babies is part of "health care," then your understanding of the term "health care" is obviously quite different from the actual meaning of the words. In short, you lose credibility. Your claim to health care is "illusory." It sounds good, but is in fact destructive, because it masks an act of violence.

"My plan for adequate housing will succeed." Fine. But what are houses for, if not for people to live in them? If you allow the killing of the children who would otherwise live in those houses, how am I supposed to get excited by your housing project?

It's easy to get confused by all the arguments in an election year. But if you start by asking where candidates stand on abortion, you can eliminate a lot of other questions you needn't even ask.
By Fr. Frank Pavone

For more election related articles and information, visit www.priestsforlife.org/elections (US)

So it is no good just voting for this Party or that, you need to ask all your local Candidates where they stand on abortion and how they will vote if elected.
See how your MP has voted on Life Issues in the past and how your other local candidates would vote if elected; https://www.spuc.org.uk/ (UK)

Ban On Silent Prayer, Upheld By The Court Of Appeal

The Good Counsel Network is deeply concerned for the many women who are coerced into abortions by partners, family or by circumstances. Over the last 7 years we have had the opportunity outside Marie Stopes to assist over 500 women to keep their babies through offering financial help, housing, practical help, baby goods, childcare and moral support. Ealing Council's PSPO prevents many women from accessing this help.

We are deeply saddened that the Appeal Court Judges have not taken into account the testimonies of these women and that they have ruled that even silent prayer and an offer of help should be banned outside the abortion centre. We understand that Alina will challenge this ruling further.

Hear from some of the mothers that the Pro-Life vigils have helped over the years, https://www.goodcounselnet.co.uk

Then join us in prayer, at a Vigil or on our Monthly Days of Prayer and Fasting for Life

The Guardian Attacks Peaceful Prayer Vigils But Don't Want to Speak to Mothers Helped.

With Richmond's Buffer Zone coming into effect on 1st April, we have enough to think about. However, it is 40 Days season and the usual bloodhounds come sniffing to the door looking to make up any kind of a story out of any dead twigs they can root up.
I got this email from Guardian journalist Simon Murphy yesterday. I have not replied since his "story" was already written, and he declined my offer to speak to any of the Mothers helped by our vigils. You can hear from the Mothers we have helped here .The Guardian have a poor record themselves in showing consideration for Mothers entering abortion centres, see our post here .
The leaflet below which is not a Good Counsel Leaflet, but which is given out around the country by different groups is the main source of Mr Murphy's discontent. Claiming that including a quote from a woman who found her abortion more difficult to deal with than rape is offensive or is a "tactic". Perhaps he is suggesting this woman should not feel that way, or maybe only that she should not be allowed to share how her experience affected her? I thought it was all about trusting women? But only the right women it seems!
Then the journalist's email below the leaflet gives you a bit of insight into the mindset of these journalists. I will let you be the judge of his article!

Sent: 03 April 2019 16:02
To: Good Counsel Network
Subject: Guardian story -- request for comment

Dear Clare,

As discussed, we intend to publish a story in the Guardian about how anti-abortion protesters have been accused of harassing vulnerable women visiting clinics as they ramp up demonstrations during Lent including handing out leaflets suggesting that a termination is harder to deal with than being raped. 

The Guardian has discovered a series of tactics deployed by anti-abortion protesters, some of whom have been participating in the 40 Days for Life campaign,  as they step up demonstrations in ten locations across the UK the run up to Easter by picketing clinics for up to 12 hours a day. 

 

As part of the story we will be detailing how leaflets are being handed out during Lent by activists in Birmingham and Leicester, laden with graphic images of foetuses, which imply that rape is easier to overcome than having a termination – as well as suggesting women who have abortions are more likely to commit suicide. The leaflets provide contact details for a woman called “Isabel” at the Good Counsel Network.

The contact details on the leaflet also match those of an organiser listed on 40 days for life’s Birmingham campaign. The leaflet, entitled, “Do you know?” urges people to: “Text/call Isabel now on 07773501721 and let us know how we can help.”

The same number and name is listed on 40 Days for Life’s Birmingham campaign page. See here: https://40daysforlife.com/local-campaigns/birmingham-2/

The protest in Birmingham, outside a Marie Stopes clinic in Edgbaston, is an official 40 Days For Life demonstration. The Leicester protest, outside a BPAS health clinic, is understood not to be officially affiliated with the campaign.

The leaflet purports to quote women who have had abortions with one apparently saying: “For me, the abortion was harder to get over than the rape,” one women apparently says. Another adds: “No one ever told me I would live with this decision for the rest of my life. It’s been several years but my grief continues.”

Another woman says her doctor did not warn her about the “possible profuse bleeding and infection that lasted for weeks” or “the possibility of the hysterectomy I had 8 months later”.

The quotes appear alongside a picture of a 10-week old foetus being held in a hand. The leaflet refers people to the Good Counsel Network, a Catholic group which pays activists to picket outside clinics.

The pamphlet also suggests women who have abortions are more likely to commit suicide. It states: “Pregnancy is a protective factor against suicide. One study found that women who had abortions have six times higher rates of suicide than women who continue their pregnancies.”

The group uses a 28-year-old entry in the British Medical Journal and a 14-year-old Finnish study from the European Journal of Public Health to reference its claims.

However, a House of Commons report produced by the Science and Technology committee in 2007 described the Finnish study as “inappropriate”. It states: “Even though this study and others like it are controlled for demographic characteristics, socioeconomic status, health status and medical disorders, the comparison groups are inappropriate for answering a question about the casual link between abortion and all-cause morbidity.”

Questions:

Does the Good Counsel Network endorse the messages included in the leaflet, including the suggestion that overcoming a termination is harder to deal with than being raped?

Did the Good Counsel Network help produce this leaflet?

I would be grateful if you could confirm receipt of this email and provide a response by 3pm tomorrow.

Many thanks,

Simon

Simon Murphy

News Reporter

Guardian News & Media